Solar Panel Installation » Solar Power

Does Enphase Sell Micro-Inverters To The Do It Yourselfer? [Video]

Dave — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:06:21 +0000

Update: I was contacted by Enphase Energy and they kindly requested that I take this video down. I am not sure why exactly, but I am going to respect their request. This kind of hurts me because I put several hours of work into producing these videos which is now wasted (I had 6 videos total). Perhaps someone from Enphase will at least let me publish a written version of these question.

I apologize to my readers for this inconvenience.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. Does Enphase Sell Micro-Inverters To The Do It Yourselfer? [Video]

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My Videos Have Been Watched Over 277,000 Times

Dave — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:09:42 +0000

I thought this was very cool, my 201 videos on YouTube have been watched over 277,000 times! Most of my videos are about solar energy. I created my Youtube account many years ago under the profile of drumat5280, I wish I had named it SolarDave. Oh, well.

I just want to say thanks to all of you that have watched my videos. This is mostly a hobby site for me and I have enjoyed making all the videos over the years.

Interesting to note that I have not been embedding the YouTube videos on my SolarDave.com site because I have been using Vimeo, but my videos on YouTube still get watched because I have 141 people that subscribe to my videos.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. My Videos Have Been Watched Over 277,000 Times

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Interviewing John Shaw – Any Questions You Would Like to Ask?

Dave — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:52:28 +0000

I am going to be interviewing John Shaw (pictured below on the cover of SolarToday magazine) and I need a few more questions for Friday’s video interview.

Anyone want their question answered by this expert in solar power? Ask below in the comments.

john-shaw-bella-energy

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. Interviewing John Shaw – Any Questions You Would Like to Ask?

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What is Going on with the Xcel Rebates lately [Video]

Dave — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:39:33 +0000

This is my 6th video interview with Ken Oatman with Astralux of out of Boulder Colorado.

SolarDave: What is Going on with the Xcel Rebates lately?

Ken Oatman:

[transcription coming soon...]

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. What is Going on with the Xcel Rebates lately [Video]

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How much does a solar thermal residential unit cost [Video]

Dave — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 23:02:56 +0000

This is my 2nd video interview with Mark Hill in sales for Solar Green of out of Englewood Colorado.

SolarDave: How much does a solar thermal residential unit cost?

Mark Hill:

transcript coming soon……

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. How much does a solar thermal residential unit cost [Video]

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Win A 2 Kilo Watt Solar Panel System

Dave — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 17:35:43 +0000

I got an email from Kelly over at Standard Renewable Energy and she told me they are giving away a solar panel system soon. I thought you might like to enter if you are in the Denver area.

You can enter to win here.

Good luck if you enter.

We will have a press release going out next week, but I love the buzz already starting!

There are some stipulations – you must be a homeowner within the defined region (which is essentially all of Boulder County, Denver, and other areas around there!), and you must over 21 years old.
All of the rules and regulations of course must be posted on the website – so they’ll be there!

The sweet spot – besides the grand prize -is that we are essentially giving away 1,000 energy audits!! I think that is just so great knowing that 1,000 people will be getting their home’s energy consumption audited, and they will hopefully start to understand how much energy their homes are wasting every day! Imagine – those 1,000 people tell 1-2 people, and the messages that could be spread!!

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. Win A 2 Kilo Watt Solar Panel System

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Taos Solar Install [Picture]

Dave — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:11:35 +0000

I went on vacation down to Taos New Mexico back in April and I was looking around town to find solar panels installed on roofs. Well I could only find this one in the picture above.

I did see a bunch more, but they were out west of town in a place I think was called Earth Ship? But I was thinking I would have seen more in the downtown Taos area.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. Taos Solar Install [Picture]

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City of Boulder Solar Panel Projects [Pictures]

Dave — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:31:50 +0000

It seems like City of Boulder is a bit more progressive when it comes to using solar around town. Pictured below are the bus stops stations around the University of Colorado and the new parking meter machines around Pearl Street.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. City of Boulder Solar Panel Projects [Pictures]

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Financing Solar On New Home, Payback Is Instant [Video]

Dave — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:26:42 +0000

This is my 2nd video interview with Mary Coonce from Porchfront homes.

SolarDave: I am guessing working in Boulder is not a hard sell for green homes, do your clients bring up solar before you even mention it?

Mary Coonce: Well it is interesting, we have had several – we have had more before, once we had the green event, then we had people coming in saying hey can we have solar houses etc. So that is when we said, we better do some redesigns so we can accommodate them.

But it is really interesting because we offer all kinds of things for options, upgraded granite tops, two shower heads in the shower, spa type situation – that kind of thing. In addition to that we offer the solar, Icynene Isolation and some other green features and we advertise them like we would any other option. So for instance we somebody says hey I want another deck what is that going to cost me – we tell them this is how much it is going to cost and this is the change in your mortgage payment.

Then what we do with the green features is, we go thru the list and you want to put solar PV on your house or geothermal or Icynene Isolation and our other efficiencies, this is how much it costs, this is the increase in your mortgage payment, and this is the savings you have in your energy.

So basically it is right off the bat you are paying for your system. Because a lot of these more expensive like the solar and geothermal they say your payback is x number of years. And what we try to show is, if you are going to finance it, your payback is immediate.

Because you mortgage payment might be increased by $70 a month if you put solar on your house, you are saving at least $70 a month on your utility bill – so it is a wash.

SolarDave note: in the video the example you see in the text for the solar system is based off Namaste Solar Electric figures.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. Financing Solar On New Home, Payback Is Instant [Video]

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How Long Do Solar Panels Last?

Dave — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 19:52:13 +0000

As part of my investment calculation that I am putting together I need to know how long solar panels can last.

I am borrowing a book from a friend of mine called “Photovoltaics Design and Installation Manual” by Solar Energy International published in 2004 that says:

“Durability. Most PV modules available today show no degradation after 10 years of use. It is likely that future modules will produce power for 25 years or more.”

I did some more research and found that it depends on the type of panel used. Here is a quote from BoatUS site:

“ Over time, all solar cells have a tendency to degrade slightly under the suns rays. Crystalline panels have a
much slower degradation factor than thin film and will therefore continue to produce energy for a longer period
of time. Warranties will reflect this: crystalline panels are often guaranteed from 20 years to lifetime. Thin film panels receive shorter warranties (usually from 2-5 years), but have been known to still be putting out a charge for up to double that time.”

I decided to take a look at some warranties, for the Sharp NE-165U1 solar panel it says:

“25 year limited warranty on power output”

Depending which way I go, having a 25 year warranty sounds pretty good. I am sure in 25 years solar panels will be a bit more efficient and need to be replaced.

Post from: Dave Dugdale SolarDave.com I will be offering Solar Panel Diagrams soon. How Long Do Solar Panels Last?